E30 Zone

Picked up a new 318iS this weekend and its got a few issues.

First problem is my water temp gauge jumps about. It will generally sit at the correct position, but every so often it'll flick about. I imagine this is an earth issue?

Passenger window goes down fine, but is very slow and judders when going up.

Idle is a little wobbly when cold, the revs drop low enough to almost make the car stall. Is this it just balancing?

No remote locking. The car has an alarm, but not fob for it. Where would the box be so I can identify whats fitted?

Thanks

To save me typing out an essay, have a read of the following links:

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... ot_Working

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... ky_Windows

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... ake#Idling

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... al_Locking

The Wiki really does cover a hundred of the most common E30 problems, so it's worth sitting down with a cup of tea and reading it all.

illmonkey wrote:Picked up a new 318iS this weekend and its got a few issues.

First problem is my water temp gauge jumps about. It will generally sit at the correct position, but every so often it'll flick about. I imagine this is an earth issue?

brass nut

Passenger window goes down fine, but is very slow and judders when going up.

Lubricate the guides with silicon grease spray/

Idle is a little wobbly when cold, the revs drop low enough to almost make the car stall. Is this it just balancing?

Inlet air leaks, injectors in need of refurb., TPS adjustment been messed with.

No remote locking. The car has an alarm, but not fob for it. Where would the box be so I can identify whats fitted?

Above/behind the glovebox is the usual place for the electronics, with a siren under the bonnet, but if after market, could be anywhere of course. Usually best plan is to remove the up to twenty five year old original, and replace with a £30 new one, that comes complete with two new fobs. Search for 'rightclick' on google or ebay.

Thanks guys. Failed to mention that the ABS light is on constantly, even though the sensors are fine. Looks like that wiki has a fix too.

I wouldn't expect many of the E30 iS to have the over voltage protection relay fitted, but if yours is an early one it may have.

It's a 1990.

I'll do the fresh solder fix and see if it works. The seller said hes had garages look at the cabling and the sensors and its all fine.

Something else I forgot to add. It knocks at the rear, going around a right hander with a bit of speed, sounds like the drive shaft is lose, or a bearing? It sounds rotational and goes faster/slower with the cars speed. As opposed to a static rumble

Rear wheel bearing?

Bang on with the brass nut, it was missing.

Window is down to the switch, by swapping them it works no problem. I'll order a new one.

Cleared the ICV and it still isn't great. Car is a iS, so doesn't have a TPS.

The ABS light is just that, a light that sits into the dash. So the issue has to be on a different module somewhere. I suppose I need to check the sensors to make sure they're in ok condition.

Here is the alarm module. No markings at all, anyone recognise it?

At least all the cables are there, but I suppose I won't know what's what to be able to re-cable into a new alarm.

illmonkey wrote:

Window is down to the switch, by swapping them it works no problem. I'll order a new one.

They usually respond to opening up, cleaning out and a bit of silicon lubricant, although the half power operation may have burnt the contacts in yours.
Still worth lubricating the window channels, as resistance here can contribute to the switch problems by increasing running current.

Cleared the ICV and it still isn't great. Car is a iS, so doesn't have a TPS.

Still has a TPS, although the 'S' stands for something different, and it still has to be adjusted correctly. Don't move it if you're certain it's still as is was when it left the factory. TPS can be tested using the same method as for an AFM.

The ABS light is just that, a light that sits into the dash. So the issue has to be on a different module somewhere. I suppose I need to check the sensors to make sure they're in ok condition.

ABS light connects directly to the ABS ECU, which is to the left of your alarm pics. The overvoltage module, if you have one, is clipped above the body colour painted metalwork that holds the glove box catch.
ABS ECU doesn't test the hub sensors until the car starts to move, so if the light doesn't go out after the engine starts, the problem is not a sensor.

Here is the alarm module. No markings at all, anyone recognise it?

At least all the cables are there, but I suppose I won't know what's what to be able to re-cable into a new alarm.

The smaller box on the left is for the ultrasonic interior movement detectors. Don't recognise the main box either, although I've probably ripped one out at some time in the past.
We'll be able to identify the wires for a new alarm easily enough, if you cut the cable ties, and tell us where the various wires go.

knocking at the rear sounds like a top mount or shock?

The switch looks fried inside, a new one is £10. Easiest thing. I'll add lubing the arms to the list.

Can you expand on testing the AFM and TPS please?

The ABS light comes on and stays on. The previous owner said he got it looked at but a few people couldn't get it sorted.

I'll try to trace some of the cables and update. Once I know what needs doing I can order an alarm. Are there only these? They all look tacky!

ETA: what are the little gold clips called that you use to screw into? A few are missing/snapped.

diable wrote:

illmonkey wrote:
ETA: what are the little gold clips called that you use to screw into? A few are missing/snapped.

Crimp lugs

Nope, but I found them. spire clips

illmonkey wrote:The switch looks fried inside, a new one is £10. Easiest thing. I'll add lubing the arms to the list.

Can you expand on testing the AFM and TPS please?

The ABS light comes on and stays on. The previous owner said he got it looked at but a few people couldn't get it sorted.

I'll try to trace some of the cables and update. Once I know what needs doing I can order an alarm. Are there only these? They all look tacky!

ETA: what are the little gold clips called that you use to screw into? A few are missing/snapped.

bump on this.

What do I need to do to the ABS?

How do I do the AFM test on the TPS? The car starts on very low revs <500rpm and picks up a little, then doesn't idle very smooth.

My accelerator pedal also seems to have a notch in it after 1 inch of travel, and my clutch seems to bit about 1 inch from the top (not touching it)

have a read through the wiki, as Grrr has pointed about above. AFM testing etc is all well explained.

illmonkey wrote: What do I need to do to the ABS?

First thing to do is to work out whether you have the version with the voltage protection relay or not. It should be clipped to the body coloured painted metalwork that the glove box catch is bolted to.
Alternatively, look under the rubber boots of the C101 engine loom plug and socket (beside the fusebox) and see if there is a red/yellow wire connected to pin 20 on both sides.

Brian, I have the cable you mentioned in the engine loom plug, whats next?

My funny idle could be down to this vent hose, ordered a new one:




I also have no idea how this got covered in oil, it looks like someone's split oil down 2 of the spark holes when topping it up:




I adjusted the throttle on the carbon track as per the wiki and it just stalls the car, so had to put it back.[/img]

Been away for a week and want to get back to sorting some things.

Is there a way to see what frequency the alarm is on so I can get a fob to match it? It looks OEM and I'd like to keep it.

Also, the replacement hose has arrived but it slightly shorter (the bit to the right of my hand in the above image) and I can't seem to get it on the bit under the intake.

And bump on the ABS sensor, as I said, I've got the cable you said about Brian, so whats next?

Getting rid of the throttle heater allows you to simplify the tangle of coolant and breather hoses.

http://www.e30zone.net/e30zonewiki/inde ... ody_Heater

Have you checked both throttle butterflies are closed when the engine is idling?

SamiS wrote:
Is there a way to see what frequency the alarm is on so I can get a fob to match it? It looks OEM and I'd like to keep it.

Probably 418 MHz, but that's only the carrier frequency. Won't help you with the encryption, although that can be reverse engineered by examining the coding around the receiver chip in the alarm, and using manufacturer's data sheets to get the coding for the matching transmitter chip.
I don't recognise your alarm as an OEM one. There were three, IIRC - A BMW branded one, a Scorpion one, painted black instead of red, and another BMW approved one, whose make I can't remember.

And bump on the ABS sensor, as I said, I've got the cable you said about Brian, so whats next?

What cable? A red/yellow on each side of pin 20 of the C101 engine connector?

I managed to get the hose on last night, it seems to have cured my erratic idle issue. The old hose was split on the end as well as half way down the hose.

I also looked into the ABS more. To confirm, I have a red/yellow cable on either side of the C101 connector, I can also see the cable coming into the 'above glove box area', but no relays there. But, I do have 2 relays on my ABS module behind the near side headlights. 1 very shiny metal silver relay and a black bosch one.

I got the cover off the black one and it looks fine, but the silver one looks moulded. Are these the 2 I need to replace? Looks like they're ~£15 a pop on ebay.

There is a diode inside one of the relays on the ABS pump which would put the light on if it failed, but after that there isn't much more to the system other than the ECU.
Where are you? Much cheaper to borrow bits off of other zoners for testing purposes than buy bits off ebay.
Check (with a 12 volt bulb) that power is reaching the ABS pump plug on both the red and red/yellow wires when the ignition is on.

Is it the case I either have a relay in the glove box area OR on the pump? depending on cars age? Or do I need to still find something in the glove box area?

Based in Oxfordshire.

No, all the pumps have two relays; the earlier systems have an additional one above the relay.

Ok, I'll test the cables later on. Can I just use a multimeter? I don't have a 12v on a lead. Stupid question, but I assume I'm testing each cable to ground to see if I get 12v?

Needs to be a bulb of at least 5W (to provide a significant load). Meter can often give very misleading results if you don't understand its limitations.
Most of my electrical fault finding is done with an E30 indicator repeater bulb, bulb holder and lead, with the plug cut off.

Brian, you'll laugh at this.






Its not the ABS light, its the brake warning light.


The guy told me it was the ABS light when I viewed it, so it's stuck in my head. I never even doubted it!

I feel a fool, but thanks for your help. I'll be checking the sensor tonight to see if its ok or if my pads are low.

Oh, to add. I don't have the ABS relay, anywhere in the ECU area.

Also to add, that's the issues all sorted. Trouble is, I'm not sure I want the car anymore. I've looked for months for an iS, but now I've got it...

Which brake warning light? There's more than one.

Do you mean the pad wear light? mine had the bulb taken out, but my dash has a blanking plate where the ABS light should be. Seems although I have new pad wear sensors the light would remain on if a bulb was put in (assume some previous owner/garage cut the cable somewhere). So I have put the ABS light, wired up, into the hole for the pad wear (obviously insulating it) and I can now see that the ABS is OK and the garage wont complain at MOT time that a light isn't working.

NOTE: I will fix the real issue when I get some spare time

MOT tester isn't interested in whether your pad wear light is on all the time, part of the time,or never comes on at all. He is, however, interested in whether the ABS warning light comes on, although no longer worried about its exact sequence.
If you now have no light at all in the ABS position, your car should fail its MOT test. Why would you move it?

Brianmoooore wrote:Which brake warning light? There's more than one.

It's the brake pad sensor one, looks like this


All dash lights come on when starting, and go off after a second or 2.

That's the wear sensor. There is a pad sensor at the front left hub and the rear right, if you have rear discs. The sensor is a simply loop of wire embedded in plastic, and the light comes on either when the wire is exposed and contacts bare earthed metal, such as the brake disc, or when the wire is totally severed. It is off when the total loop, from the instrument cluster to a hub, to the other hub, and back to the cluster is intact and insulated.
There is also a well known fault inside the instrument cluster, which is easily sorted. There are the two soldered connections to a large 220 ohm resistor inside the cluster, very close to the temperature gauge. The soldered joints become 'dry', and need resoldering to provide a permanent cure. Details are in the wiki.

Brian, yes, I'm aware of the sensors. I'll whip the wheels off today just to check the pads and sensors are connected/present etc.

As for mine - the dash I have has no ABS light on it although the wiring and bulb is behind the dash. The front of the dash has nothing but black plastic where the ABS should be.